


Forlorn

by Phicat



Category: Wander Over Yonder
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-22 19:33:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7451368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phicat/pseuds/Phicat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peepers paused at the sound of Wander tearing up. Oh, right. They were still there.</p><p>"That," Wander wiped a tear from his eye. "Was possibly the most romantic and beautiful thing I have ever heard, Mr. Peepers."</p><p>Peepers glared.</p><p>"You gotta tell him! Tell Hatey that you loooove him!" Wander swung himself into Peepers' arms, leaving the latter baffled.</p><p>Peepers shuddered, letting Wander fall to the ground.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forlorn

**Author's Note:**

> I drew some fanart for is fic so?? Here u go  
> http://starscasm.tumblr.com/post/147508750297/yo-i-drew-that-one-part-from-my-fic-idk-it

"It's nothing, it's nothing, it's nothing..." Peepers repeated, taking a deep breath. "It's... It's absolutely nothing! Just admiration! Yes, I admire him, just a little!" He paused. "Other than that, he's my key to ruling the galaxy! Nothing else!"

Peepers pressed a button on the recorder and pressed rewind, listening to the tape, making a small noise of satisfaction. Well, that was one way to deal with stress. He could go yell at the watchdogs, but he didn't feel like seeing anyone right now (not even Andy and Bean, whom he usually tormented.)

The day had certainly not gone like any other normal day, what with Hater (Hater!) and Wander and the Zbornak defeating Dominator (where was she anyways?), a feat not even Peepers himself thought possible. What was particularly amazing was how competent his boss had been (of course, he'd gone back to chasing that wandering weirdo, but the point stood; he'd been productive, even if it lasted for just a few hours)

Thermodynamics, gravity wells, the ability to give and actually follow his own orders...

 _Oh grop_. He'd done it again.

Which is what led him to his next point: He'd done... The heart thing. Peepers opened and closed his fists, sighing. Whatever.

The 'heart thing'. That was oversimplifying it. The 'heart thing', known as the extreme dialation and shifting of the pupil in Watchdogs, occurring in extreme points of infatuation. One's amygdala would provoke-

Well, now he was just rambling (he just really loved Watchdog biology; could you blame him?)

Of course, he'd seen it before with Wander's stupid gifts and whatnot, but judging by the Zbornak's teasing, his case had been an extreme example.

_"So, Hater, huh?"_

_"Huh?" Peepers turned his head to Sylvia, who was towering over him. "Oh," He replied, dryly, turning his head away. "Yeah, he has been particularly successful today-"_

_"That's not what I mean."_

_Peepers shot her a confused look._

_"Man, you should've seen your eye, Peepers! It looked like... It looked like 3 huge hearts stacked together. How'd your pupil even turn pink? Thought your eye was red," Sylvia mused._

_"Oh," Peepers chocked on the word, his sclera turning pink in embarrassment. He knew exactly what she was talking about._

_"Woah, that bad? You look like you have pink eye now."_

_Peepers grumbled something along the lines of 'just admiration, nothing more' and Sylvia smirked._

_"Well I mean, if you say so. Isn't one of the stages of love denial?"_

_"In the Kübler-Ross model, yes." Peepers paused, taking a moment to think. "Wait, no, that's grief. No, I believe denial is not a part of love. But anyways, if that's the case, then I have nothing but love for my job!"_

_Sylvia blinked._

_"Wow, you really do have it worse than I thought."_

Peepers bit his sandwich bitterly, remembering that conversation from earlier, before taking the closest napkin and spitting out the piece. What was this, mayonnaise?

He looked inside the sandwich to find that it indeed was just that. Ew, ew, ew. There was a reason he didn't put any on his meals. The texture was... Unpleasant. Who was in charge of meals today, anyways? The chef usually knew to not put any in his lunch. He'd have to find out who was working Jo's shift today, maybe berate them, maybe blast them. Whatever.

But back to the subject at hand (metaphorically; he'd already discussed the sandwich, which was in his hand) He'd made a fool out of himself in the battlefield today, and, according to Sylvia, it was because of 'infatuation'; if that was the case, then he needed to get rid of these feelings immediately. How... How unprofessional! To have feelings for his boss? Ridiculous! He hated himself for even thinking about the idea, but his heart gave a little 'thump' in his chest and he sighed.

"If I want to rid myself of these... Unnecessary feelings, I'll have to get to the root of the problem. What part of the brain causes love?" He looked up to his room's ceiling. "Ah yes, the limbic system, therefore the temporal lobe. And the Amygdala is the main processor of emotion!

"Now, if I were to remove my amygdala, I would be able to-"

Peepers slammed his head against his desk repeatedly.

"Oh, who am I kidding? Peepers, how stupid can you be? Removing your amygdala, seriously? Grop, these 'feelings' have really gotten to you!"

He grasped at his chest, where his heart would be.

"How do I get them out, how do I get them out, how do I get them out?!" Gathering up his shirt with both of his hands and letting it go, he repeated this motion multiple times, murmuring to himself.

"Maybe... Maybe I could ignore him for a few days? Seems like a reasonable idea..." He scratched his (non-existent) chin, furrowing his (equally non-existent) brow.

"Sure! Ignore him for a few days! That'll work! You won't have to deal with this, then... You won't be unprofessional. You'll be fine." He took a deep breath, picking up some figurines from his desk. Maybe he could paint for a while. That always calmed him down.

-

Peepers was ignoring him.

Had he done something wrong?

Nah, of course not, Hater shook his head, why would he do something wrong? He never did, at least when it came to Peepers. In fact, their relationship was as strong as ever!

Which is why he was so confused.

He sat on the floor of his room, legs crossed, playing videogames halfheartedly. He took a sip out of his soda, frowning.

This would be when Peepers would come to talk to him, usually.

He didn't.

Hater grumbled, dragging his feet up to the door, which slides open.

"Where's Peepers?!" He yells at the first watchdog he sees, making them jump in surprise.

"I-I don't know, sir..." They stutter, holding their hands on front of themselves defensively. Hater grumbled and pushes him out of the way, heading to Peepers' room.

Once he's there, he knocks on the door, something he doesn't usually do.

"Peepers," He whines, slumping against the wall.

The door opens almost immediately, albeit just enough to let Hater see his commander's face- er, eye.

"Yes sir?"

"Peepers, I haven't seen you all day, you didn't come talk to me like you're supposed to!"

"Sir," Peepers pauses, looking up at Hater, blinking. "I have left your clothes in your room, with multiple pairs of underwear as well. I have prepared your meals, and I have done the cleaning. There is nothing else I can do."

"But you have to give me your reports and play videogames with me, remember?"

"Thats not in my job description. Good night, sir."

Peepers closed the door, leaving Hater very confused.

-

"And he's just been ignoring me!" Hater whined, moving his hands around.

"Well, uh, Lord Hater, sir, have you tried talking to him?"

Hater stared.

"Grop, Gary, you're useless. Why can't I talk to Peepers instead- oh, right. Ugh, why does my problem have to be with him?"

Gary carefully exited the room while Hater was distracted.

Hater continued rambling on, not noticing that Gary was gone.

He, however, heard a very familiar voice outside of the lounge.

"Oh, in here? Alrighty then, thanks Gary!"

"Wander, you sure about this?"

"Yep!"

Wander.

Hater hurriedly examined the room for any other exits, and unfortunately for him, there was but one, the one Wander would be stepping into in a few seconds.

Hurriedly, he shot the nearest wall, running over there and-

"Howdy Hater!"

Hater froze, turning to face Wander.

"Wander, whatever stupid little buddy thing you're planning, don't. I'm not in the mood," Hater crossed his arms, huffing.

"Aw, come on Hater! I'm sure an excursion to the Pizza Place Planet can make any day better!" Wander smiled at him, before frowning. "Speakin' of which, where's Mr. Peepers? Haven't seen 'im around all day..." He mused, scratching his chin.

"Thats the problem! Peepers is ignoring me and- ugh, why am I even opening up to you? You're not even supposed to be here!"

Sylvia smirked, knowingly.

-

Their next stop was Peepers' room, which was not currently inhabitated by said commander. Wander looked around in awe.

"Why, this is like a shrine for Lord Hater! Look at that poster! Those figurines! Why, even his sheets have Hater's face on them! This is a nice little place, and Mr. Peepers must love it too, with how much he admires Hater!"

"Yeah, admiration," Sylvia deadpanned in reply. "Buddy, don't you think something else is up? I mean," she pointed at the pictures taped on the wall. "Drawing hearts on someone's picture isn't exactly something you do out of admiration."

"Well, if not that, then I'm not really sure what it could mean," Wander shrugged, before giving an exaggerated gasp. "Unless... Mr. Peepers is in love with Lord Hater!"

"I'm glad you caught on," Wander shot her a surprised look, before smiling coyly.

"Why, Sylvia, why didn'tcha tell me?"

"I thought it'd be best if you figured it out yourself," Sylvia shrugged. "Anways, that doesn't really fit in with what we just learned... The optic nerd? Ignoring Hater? Doesn't really sound like something Peepers would, ya know, _do_."

"Unless Peepers is just avoiding Lord Hater!"

In that moment, Peepers stepped in, looking sullen.

Immediately, he jumped in surprise upon seeing the pair, reaching for his blaster.

"What are you two doing here?" He yelled, pointing his weapon at them, shakily.

"Good to see you too," Sylvia replied. "Anyways, put your blaster down, or I'll do it myself,"

Peepers sighed, tucking the weapong away and squinting his eye.

"Hey, Mr. Peepers!" Wander waved.

"What are you doing here?" He repeated.

"We're here to help you with your love troubles," Sylvia teased, making Peepers blush slightly.

"L-love troubles? I have no such thing!"

"What's this?" Sylvia pointed at the picture Wander was holding, he himself grinning. Peepers reached for the picture immediately, to which Wander replied by pulling it up higher, where Peepers couldn't reach. He grumbled.

"Whatever, I'm over him anyways," Peepers looked off to the side, crossing his arms.

"Doesn't seem like it," Sylvia muttered.

"So you did like him!" Wander squealed enthusiastically. "Is that why you're avoiding him?"

"I-I..!" Peepers blushed, choking on his words. "N-no!"

"Yup," Sylvia snorted. "That's the reason. Lay the details on us, Peeps."

Peepers blinked. Well, he might as well, right?

"It's just so... Ugh!" Peepers jumped, grasping at his helmet. "He has never appreciated what I've done for him! Sure, our relationship is improving, sure. But the years we've been working together? I've been hopelessly in... Love with him," Peepers gagged. "And I hate it! Sure, all these years I've been _'oh, he's just my weapon to manipulate, I don't care about him',_ or at least have tried to convince myself that that's it. My goal is galactic domination, so why, why do I feel his way?"

Peepers paused at the sound of Wander tearing up. Oh, _right_. They were still there.

"That," Wander wiped a tear from his eye. "Was possibly the most romantic _and_ beautiful thing I have ever heard, Mr. Peepers."

Peepers glared.

"You gotta tell him! Tell Hatey that you loooove him!" Wander swung himself into Peepers' arms, leaving the latter baffled.

Peepers shuddered, letting Wander fall to the ground.

"No. What are you two doing here anyways? Leave, or I'll make you leave myself!" Peepers' temper was back. Sylvia sighed, facepalming, before being lifted away by the bubble that Wander had just made.

"Well, that sure didn't work," Wander scratched his chin.

"Ya think?" Sylvia replied. "Can't we just, y'know, let them solve their romantic tensions by themselves? You know what happened last time you tried to set someone up,"

"That was because I confused her with the other other twin, Syl!" Wander exclaimed. "Anyways, no, we gotta do this for Mr. Peepers! And Hater too! Otherwise they're going to become old and humorless and loveless!" Wander whined.

Sylvia smiled. His heart was in the right place, as always.

His head, was not.

-

"Another day without Peepers!" Hater yelled, stomping into the room and letting himself fall onto the bed, arms crossed over his chest. "Stupid, commander. I don't need him anyways." Hater grumbled.

Captain Tim took his cue and leaped on top of his master, biting his cloak.

"Tiiiiiiim!" Hater grinned, giggling.

They continued rough housing until the room to Hater's room was slammed open.

Tim paused, along with Hater.

"Hater!" Wander exclaimed, running up to him and embracing him.

"Ew, get off me, you... Wander!" Hater yelled, untangling Wander's arms from his. "What are you doing here? Get out!"

"Aw, but Hatey," Wander smiled at him. "I'm gonna help you with your commander problem!"

"My..? Oh, him? Psh, I don't need Peepers. I can handle this all by myself." Hater boasted, clearly faking.

"Didn't you learn your lesson in that other episode?" Sylvia paused. "Of your life. You need Peepers to function!"

"He's doing his job, actually," Hater whined, pulling his hood over his face. "That's the prooooblem... He's not talking to me! Like, why?" Hater flapped his hands around in exasperation.

 Wander grinned.

"Just come with us!" Wander took Hater's hand and dragged him along to his closet. "You two need to have a nice chat over dinner! So put on your fanciest robe!"

"D-Dinner? What does-" Hater groaned. "We're not doing that stupid ceremony thing again, are we?"

"No, no, don't worry! Nothing of the sort!" Wander smiled coyly. "Just a nice chat between you and Mr. Peepers!"

Hater grumbled and stepped into the closet, slumped over. He returned a few minutes later, in his normal robe- this one was much shinier, however.

"Really? The same one you wore for my destruction ceremony?" Wander asked, disappointedly. He gave a thumbs down. "I was thinking... Something a little fancier. You know, something Peepers would like!"

Hater thought for a moment, before a lightbulb lit in his head. He stepped into the closet once again, returning a few moments later in a suit.

"Wow! Hatey, I've never seen you anything other than a robe! Gotta say, it suits you!" Wander giggled. "Get it?" Sylvia rolled her eyes, as did Hater. That sounded like something Peepers would say. 

His stomach sank, remembering that his commander, _his Peepers_ , hadn't talked to him in days, because of something he probably did.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Hater crossed his arms, looking to the side. "Can we go now?"

"No! We've gotta set up the date!"

"The... Date?"

"I mean, your dinner! Come on!"

Tim stared at the door in disappointment. Looks like he wouldn't melt _any_ bones with _any_ acid today.

The creature heard the sound of a Watchdog's feet down the hallway.

Alright, maybe squishy eyeballs _weren't_ as good as bones, but they worked. 

Tim began sprinting down the hallway, growling.

-

Hater was dragged into the kitchen, where the chef greeted him. He grumbled in response.

"What does Mr. Peepers like?"

Hater's eyes widened.

"Well, I mean, it'd be easier to tell you what he dislikes," he paused. "He's weird with food or whatever. I never see him eat, but I know he can't eat anything 'slimey', like mustard or mayo. He also doesn't like overly crunchy things, like..."

Hater continued speaking for 20 minutes (or so it seemed to Sylvia).

"I know everything Peepers dislikes," Hater finished, smugly.

 _Well, he likes you, and you don't know that,_ Sylvia thought.

Wander elbowed Sylvia gently, giving her an 'eh, eh?', making Sylvia roll her eyes in response.

"It would've just been easier to tell us what Peepers likes," Sylvia muttered, glaring at Hater.

Wander had managed to listen intently, somehow.

"So, how does this sound? Calvin, show Hater the menu, please!"

A piece of paper was placed in front of Hater. He examined the menu before giving a nod.

"Yeah, that seems fine." He waved his hand in the air and threw the menu across the room. "Can I go now? Yeah, cool, later. Peace."

As he was about to leave, Wander tugged at his cloak.

"Not yet! We still gotta figure out where we will host this da- I mean, dinner!" Wander stroked his chin for a moment. 'I've done extensive research on your ship, seeing as I've visited every room, and deducted your ship has six places to host the perfect da-nner," Hater ignored this slip-up, much to Wander's relief. "You call them 'smooching rooms'!"

Hater's eyes widened.

"Oh no no no, not the smooching room! That's for like, pretty ladies! You know, like Dominator!"

"Well, Peepers isn't a pretty lady, so it's fine! And besides, it's not like you wan to smooch him, now do you?" Wander gave Hater finger guns, and the latter blushed at this comment.

"N-no! Of course not! Fine, we'll go to the smooching room! Let's get this over with," Hater muttered, stomping towards smooching room #6.

Wander gave Sylvia a wink.

-

"So that's what he's been doing," Peepers muttered, looking down. The watchdog in front of him gave him a confused look. "Well, okay, you're excused." Peepers gritted his teeth (?), as the watchdog ran back to the cafeteria.

So he didn't even care about him, huh? Well, that was fine. He could go with that wandering weirdo for all Peepers cared!

Hater had, apparently, spent the whole day with Wander. Rather than following the instructions Peepers had left for him, which included '1. Conquer planet.' And '2. Set up army.'

But fine.

Peepers didn't care, yet why did he feel an ache in his heart?

Jealousy?

No. _Disappointment_.

"Hey, Mr. Peepers!"

Speak of the devil.

"Mr. Peepers! You gotta come with us!"

"Why should I?" Peepers didn't lift his gaze from the ground, replying in a monotone voice.

"Because! It's about Lord Hater!"

"Oh, well, another reason I shouldn't go, then. I don't care."

"Don't you care about him?"

Peepers felt a pang in his heart.

"No..." He hesitated. "Why should I? Clearly, he cares more about you. And less, about me."

Wander stared.

"Oh? You mean about today? Oh, we were just hanging out to plan a surprise for you!"

This caught Peepers' attention.

"A... Surprise?"

"Yeah, yeah, a surprise. Come on, peepsqueak," Sylvia said, pulling him unto her back and speeding ahead.

"I never said I'd go with you," Peepers said, bitterly. "Put me down this instant or I'll sue you."

"Hah! Not a chance. Besides, what's a lawsuit gonna do to me? I'm the most wanted in the galaxy, along with this guy," She motioned to Wander. "Who are you gonna take the suit to? The Lords of Illumination?" She let out a chuckle before continuing.

Peepers would've stuck his tongue out at her if he had one.

-

The... The smooching room? 

Peepers looked around.

No... It couldn't be... Could it?

Was this... A date?

 _No, Peepers, he wouldn't. Keep it together._ He took a deep breath.

He walked into the area where the tables were placed. He had to admit, whoever designed this room had a relatively good taste.

At the center table was his boss, nervously tugging at his... Collar? Was he wearing a suit? And were those flowers on the table? And was that... 

He shook his head, clearing his throat.

"Sir."

Hater nearly jumped from his seat.

"Uh, hey, uh, C. Peeps. Take a seat or whatever." Hater nearly squeaked.

Peepers did as told, scooting his chair closer to the table.

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until Peepers spoke.

"Is this... A date?" He asked, carefully.

Hater furrowed his brow.

"Uh, no? Geez, Peeps, can't we be just some bros who happen to be hanging out together in a smooching room?!" Hater yelled, though Peepers could tell there was nervousness in his voice. 

"Seems like it," Peepers replied, taking a forkful of the food in front of him into his mouth. At least Hater had taken the consideration of choosing foods he didn't have sensory issues with. At that moment, he realized what he was doing and where he was.

In the Smooching Room.

With his boss.

Peepers blushed before his pupil shrank.

 _Stupid Wander and Sylvia_. 

"I-I've gotta go... Check on the Watchdogs..." Peepers mumbled, sprinting from the room.

"Huh..?" Hater scratched his chin, shrugging.

Peepers was back a few moments later, looking down and blushing furiously.

Once again, silence.

"I see you're, ah, wearing a suit."

"Yeah," Hater mumbled.

"Its suits you."

Ugh, not that stupid pun again. 

But he was trying to win back his commander, right? Fine.

He let out an overly exaggerated laugh, nearly choking. Peepers looked at him with concern. 

It wasn't meant to be funny.

Every so often they'd exchange a few words, and every so often Peepers would run out of the room with some excuse or another. 

Hater sank into his chair, deciding to solve this once and for all.

"Why... Are you avoiding me?"

Peepers' eye widened.

"Come again?"

"You've been avoiding me... For a week. Since we defeated Dominator. I don't.. I don't get it, C. Peeps. I thought you'd be happy."

Peepers pushed his chair away from the table.

"I've... I've gotta go. Goodnight, Sir."

"Peepers, wait!" Hater stumbled out of his chair, holding his hand out. "This... This is the smooching room, right? You gotta... You gotta smooch me! Yeah!" Hater yelled, a faint green spreading across his cheeks. "That's an order!" 

That had been Wander's idea.

_"Ask him to smooch you, see how he reacts!"_

_"Uh, why?"_

_"Don't worry, it'll be some totally platonic smooching," The Zbornak snorted, sarcasm heavy in her voice._

_Hater had bought it anyways._

Peepers blushed, standing upright. Did he just..?

He dashed out of the room.

-

"What you told me to do didn't work," Hater whined.

"I don't get it Syl! Our plan was foolproof!"

"Well, Peepers is a fool, so that was expected," Sylvia deadpanned. "Wander, have you considered that maybe we should just let them sort this out for themselves?"

"Maybe... But I don't... Want them to hurt each other..."

"Wander, trust me," She placed her hand on Wander's shoulder. "They wouldn't hurt one another. They're in, well, you know." She motioned to Hater with her eyes, who was mumbling about how Peepers was stupid and didn't deserve him.

Wander smiled at her.

"You're right."

-

It had been 3 weeks.

3 weeks since his commander had spoken to him.

3 weeks his commander had ignored him.

_And he hated it._

Even the Watchdogs were alarmed.

_"Hey, are they okay?"_

_"They're probably just having relationship troubles, Phil."_

The two exchanged a giggle as Hater walked past by. He didn't even have the energy to zap them.

Hater dragged his feet to Peepers' room. He knocked on the door, not expecting a reply.

To his surprise (and delight), Peepers actually opened the door.

"Peepers, we gotta talk," Hater grumbled. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure." Peepers led Hater inside, motioning for him to sit. Hater attempted to fit himself into the incredible small chair, failing to do so. He instead opted to sit on Peepers' bed.

"So, sir, what do we need to talk about?" Peepers asked, carefully.

Hater stared, before losing composure.

"Peepers, I'm sorry you feel like I did something wrong," Hater whined. "I knoooow I don't show it, but I really need you, C. Peeps! Not like, that. Just like, you know." Hater blushed, making weird motions with his hands.

Peepers blinked.

"Sir, I've been doing my job."

"Thats not what I mean! You've been ignoring me, and I don't know why! And like, I miss our lame little talks of ours at night or whatever, and how you tucked me in, and worst of all, I miss going to play tennis with you!'

"Ah. So you do care."

Hater looked at him, confusion on his face.

"Might as well tell you now," Peepers snorted. "I've kept it locked up for so many flarping years. Who even cares anymore. I'm just going to say it outright. I have... Feelings, for you."

Peepers paused. Hater was still processing this.

"Go ahead, fire me. I know this is bad, and I shouldn't feel like this. I hate it too." Hater stared at him. "I'm going to... Go." Peepers replied, awkwardly.

As he began to exit the room, Hater grasped his arm, pulling him back.

"Wait."

Peepers froze.

"I... Sort of, kinda, already knew." Hater scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I mean, having a room with cool posters of me on every wall is normal, and like, that statue of me is way cool, but like, decorating them with hearts? That's like, a little, oh. Also, your eye sorta did that heart thing the other day,"

Peepers felt like screaming into his helmet.

"I'm not going to fire you, I just... Don't know, C. Peeps."

Peepers' heart broken in two.

He didn't feel anything for him. He knew it. Of course.

"It's fine, it's fine. I shouldn't have feelings for you anyways," Peepers replied quickly. He looked down, preparing to speed out of the room. "This is my fault, sir."

"Wait."

 _Again_?

Hater appeared to be in deep though before taking a deep breath.

He placed his hands on Peepers' hips, lifting him into the the air, at his head's level. Peepers let out a yelp.

Eye to Eye(s), Peepers held his breath, averting his gaze. Grop knows how uncomfortable eye contact made him. Hater inspected his commander's eye-face thingy, attempting to locate a mouth and squinting his eyes.

 _Oh, he's probably going to kill me,_ Peepers thought, forlornly. _Serves me right_. He let out a humourless chuckle, which was immediately silenced by boney lips atop of his eye lid.

He whimpered, holding Hater's face with his hands. This wasn't happening. 

This wasn't happening.

Was it?

He couldn't really open his eye without breaking the kiss. He felt... Trapped. He couldn't see anything. This felt bad. _This felt bad._ Peepers scolded himself for disliking the one thing he'd been waiting his whole life for. 

Yet that bad feeling pooled inside his stomach. 

Breaking the kiss, he let out a gasp of air, his view dazed. Hater stared at him, concerned.

"W-was that bad? Did you not want that? I'm sorry I'm gonna leav-"

Hater was silenced by an eyelid fluttering against his cheek. A kiss, of sorts.

"It was just... Unexpected. 

"Sorry..." Hater said, hurriedly, face bright green. "Gotta go now, bye." 

"So you did mean it at the smooching room the other day," Peepers said, smugly.

"That was... Wander's idea. But I mean, sort of? I don't know?"

Peepers beamed as Hater let him fall down softly onto the bed, immediately heading towards the door.

"Sir?"

Hater turned to face Peepers as he was about to close the door to the latter's room.

"Huh?"

"What... What are we?"

Hater scratched the back of his head.

"I'm... I'm not sure. How I feel."

Peepers let out a soft 'oh'.

"We can... Work this out later. I guess we're uh, pre-dating?"

"Courting."

"Yeah, that. I'm gonna go now. Peace." He hurried out of the room. Peepers sighed, dreamily. This had to be a dream.

Hater opened the door, and peeked his head inside, looking around the room.

"Also if you tell anyone you're dead." He paused, before adding, "Love you."

He was out of the room again.

He said 'Love you'! 

Peepers was still processing all of this. He didn't have to avoid Hater anymore and-

Hater looked into the room again.

"Just to be clear I meant, metaphorically dead. Not like, real dead. I wasn't being sarcastic about the love you part though."

He slammed the door closed.

Peepers grinned.

 _Love you_.


End file.
